I just want to state something here: this forum is far from dead, nor is it declining. Instead, stats show increasing activity the past period. Sure, the years 2011 and 2012 were strong, and the donations requirement did limit the activity somewhat. But today with the free registrations, we are at the same level of new user registrations each month (about 700), just like in those years, and the number of posts and topics do not decline at all the past three years. I expect them to increase further as we move ahead. So there is a good future for the forum. I was talking about a new management in place, younger team, to further launch into the future.

It has been years since I have been truly the ego-driven maniac that ran this forum, did the PR, wrote tools etc etc, life just catches up on you as priorities shift.

Indeed.

Mr.Mouse wrote:

I still would hope to think that among the members, there are those who are young that can give the much needed fresh boost and/or approach, with energy and the right priority. Looking at the results of the poll so far, that should definitely be the case.

Yet, perhaps the new adults of this era, are not as keen on this as we were at that age.

Yeah, it's an interesting culture where you have some guy playing games and making funny voices on YouTube getting 60 million views per video, and a few thousand for someone that is showing something useful or showcasing some feature that someone put dozens of hours into. I think it encourages people to go after the shallow side of perceived fame that they don't really have to work for.

Mr.Mouse wrote:

The other suggestion I read is to just keep the forum up, and don't do a thing anymore. Led it run as-is, because a lot of people still need it, and it would not cost any time, just a little money. Of course, that could be done, and to be frank, is already the case for some time, as no substantial changes in terms of the website have been made, apart from the tools blog, and the Let's MultiEx series. We've also gone back to an open forum, and limited rules set.

There IS a lot of talent here, and excellent people, that could do anything if they wanted to. That's where the defined projects could come in, something tangible to put your teeth in and gain fame and glory for all eternity (that's quite a long time, so w00t).

This is probably how it will continue. Trying to focus all of the talent on this forum would be like herding cats too, it's unlikely we'll ever realize our full potential on a concentrated set of projects at once. Even if only due to people like me that can only spare the time and effort for short periods, and when they do they want it to be on things they really want to be working on. But I'm also too old to care about the fame side of it anymore, as it wears off after a few million-downloads projects, so I don't go after projects that will obviously be popular. It seems that a lot of the more talented members of this community and others that I've met have similar leanings, whether they don't give a shit anymore or they never did, there's always a lot of people putting a lot of time and unique skill into these obscure projects that they value more than most other people ever will. Something about that is admirable, even if it doesn't lead to Kotaku coverage and the devout support of the terrible gaming press.

I think it becomes clear with a certain measure of success that it's all fleeting. Millions of people were downloading my Half-Life AI project 15 years ago as it got regular media coverage and showed up on every PC magazine CD on the planet at some point, and now no one knows what it is. I made a viral music video when I was 16 before YouTube even existed, it survived through FTP, made its way through peer to peer networks, and later made it to YouTube, where there are a bunch of instances of it being uploaded and some of those even have over half a million views all alone. I made another viral video a few years back slapping Ivy's titties around with mocap, it was good for LOLclickbait and so it exploded, but it provided no substance and got none in return. In the end, if you add all of this crap together, a lot of people know who I am while having no idea who I am. This makes me wonder just how many other people like me are out there contributing quietly to this giant cultural melting pot of software and media crap, eventually coming to the shared conclusion that it's not really worth bothering and refocusing that effort.

I think all of that is to say, who gives a shit? Just make some shit, and find meaning in your own shit. Maybe share it with others after you spend a lot of time on your shit and others start to like the smell of it. I think when it comes to making some shit and not giving too much of a shit about the shit, Xentax is a pretty good outlet, and I like that.

I think following passion is the best principle. I am sure at the time that Half Life mod was significant, and I know their are people who still remember it especially those of who it truly affected. Its been a long time since then though and today's world has different needs.

My goal is to make video games such as classic Role Playing Games because they allow me to use a fantasy environment and teach a really nice story that makes the player feel their time is being used well, perhaps regardless of the product it inspires people in some way....

You may never know how deeply you affected some people with whatever you have done, but you have.

Having said that it is also wise to ask yourself honestly as to the reasons you do the things you do.

In any case it doesn't matter how old you are, the wiser the better!

And you can use all the experience you have to make something that others enjoy but that you also enjoy, it really doesn't matter what it is, and you never know, this joy could lead to being able to support you in more ways than one such as financial....

Then you my man are a legend, the stuff you were able to do definitely influenced my life without a doubt and inspired me to go the distance!

I guess one day the younger generation will be in your shoes helping those who need it.If you do not feel a sense of accomplishment like what you have done mattered then I think you need to ask yourself and trace back to those beliefs causing you to believe them and clear them because they are nonsense!

_________________DOAX 3 - I repeat - Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3 Has been announced but we need your support to get it outside Asia - Please Sign this Petition: http://chn.ge/1Iwi1sC

I do think the individual experience is what matters there. I got an e-mail a month or two ago from someone who told me my old modding work had played a big part in shaping his life and career path, telling my of his trials and successes and ultimately thanking me. That kind of thing is very rewarding. So I don't think everything I've done is pointless, but I do think I could've achieved a similar meaningful impact with as many individuals without appealing to the masses.

It's true that touching a wide audience will inspire that many more people, but I think the real problem, and the reason I'm so jaded with the media, is that I've witnessed the trend over the years of popular media getting more and more mindless and stimulus-based. This is probably the perspective of every old man in every cultural generation. Perhaps it's not as much culture changing as it is the old man understanding the culture, or more likely it's a bit of both.

So, that's what leads back to the "who gives a shit, just make some shit" point. Xentax doesn't necessarily need fame to have good meaning, and people will come as they come. As will the quiet leeches that seek to fulfill their anime fetishes in the shadows, and the sad men that take something someone has done here back to their own community to use as another badge for their own localized hero worship. In the end, people are inspiring and awful, so, you end up taking the good with the bad no matter how big or how small.

I remember a few (tear-) jerking moments myself, such as forcing the devs of Painkiller to switch to yet another encryption method in a patch after I had figured out their retail encryption method and posted it on their (and our) forum, or the moment I realized MultiEx Commander had been cracked by warez dudes (see example below). After all, you're finally taken seriously if haxx0rz develop cracks/keygens/serials, right? I even got into a bitch fight with one of them right here on this forum. These script kiddies were so fond of themselves. Ah, those were the days. Writing the Definitive Guide to Exploring File Formats with Watto was also good fun, as was setting up this god damn WIKI with both Watto and Elbereth. PT Explorer was also great fun to do and help those guys out. viewtopic.php?f=18&t=3834&hilit=raw+2010+ptexplorer Going through the threads, there are ample more good moments. . .It was good to race the other guys sometimes to see who could figure stuff out first. But things move on. So you "youngsters": step up. Lead the board.

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